Forgot that today was a 3x3 day, did sets of 5 on the bench. It didn't effect my performance on the final set however, as I was still able to get out 7 reps. Had a little left in the tank but didn't want to push it and get stuck under the bar, since I was happy with 7 anyway. Used the same weights for rows as last time to see if I improved. I was able to get out 25 reps compared to 20 last time, but needed to pause on the last two reps to do so. Ran steps again outside, got my vitamin D boost, and did an extra set. On the fourth set I lost count so it may have only been 4 reps. My legs were done at the top of the stairs though, and that has so far only happened at the end of the 5th rep. I am worn out now, love it!

Killed it on the squats today. Still only going to parallel on the final set, though. I think I might start doing the final set ATG next cycle. I know that will drop my reps, but I will be more satisfied with it. Planned 5x13 on lunges, but went for 15 on the last set. I should be able to hit 5x15 no problem next time, then I'll start adding weight. I planned 5x9 on the ab wheel, but went all out on the last set just for the hell of it. Next time I'll do 5x10, no problem.

In any case, it will be an interesting switch. I figure with all the other major lifts there is an emphasis on full range of motion, why not also on squats? I'll play it by ear on the first set of the next cycle and see how I feel going into it.

Damn it was hot outside today - 90°F/32°C. I'm soaked and worn after doing the steps, but right now I'm having some dates and watermelon, followed up with a 12g of protein tofu block, so I'll soon feel better. I wish my office had air conditioning though...

Killed it on the Military press today. Damn I'm having a good week! Last month I hit 5x130 lbs and today 6x135. I would say that's a strength increase That last rep was ugly as sin though. I arched my back something fierce, was growling the whole way up, and my left side was totally lagging. My form went to shit and I just muscled it up on adrenaline. That is probably why I couldn't finish my programmed sets of pullups and dips.

I thought of skipping the steps today, as I'm going out clubbing tonight for the first time in over a year and will be up late and most likely do a little dancing/moshing/stomping/whatever. I'm going to be tired tomorrow!

Another good workout. I went into it not feeling particularly energetic or strong. All the warmup lifts after 135 felt heavy and I thought I'd have a harder time of the final set than I did. I wanted to hit 6, but as the workout progressed I felt that I might only get 5. After I put the 5th rep down though, I knew I had another in me. GHR and leg raise were tough at the end of the sets.

asparagus wrote:I figure with all the other major lifts there is an emphasis on full range of motion, why not also on squats? I'll play it by ear on the first set of the next cycle and see how I feel going into it.

I agree, I've always gone ATG on squats (unless I'm box squatting or some other varaition), I actually believe not going below parallel is harder on your knees.

Again, turned out to be a great workout. Again, I didn't feel great through the warmup sets on bench, figured I'd only hit 5, then felt good to go on the the 6th. DB rows were good, although I can definitely tell that my left side is weaker. I need to start doing my sets on the left side first, then doing the same amount of reps on the right, until my left catches up. I had to pause a few times to get the same rep count on my left side. I also might be able to up my pullup reps on bench days, as I went for 5 on the last set and hit them without much trouble.

Last edited by asparagus on Fri Aug 24, 2012 5:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Thanks man. I used to do a bit of running/cycling/cardio stuff years ago but not much recently. I'm going to start increasing the amount of steps I run, maybe even throw in some conditioning on the weekends.

Usually on bench days I've worked my back and biceps pretty well from doing the Kroc rows so I keep the pullups light. My pullup count has been steadily increasing on military press days, so it's not surprising that I can do more on bench days as well.

It's only been two cycles, but I think I'm responding well to the 5/3/1 template with the currently programmed assistance. My strength is already back up to what it was in May before I took my 6-week lifting break.

I actually began my current strength training with the Stronglifts 5x5 program, gradually cutting down to 1x5 as the weights got heavier. I mostly cut down the sets as my workouts were starting to take too long and I only get a 1-hour lunchbreak to workout. Saw great strength gains through the program, as most beginners do.

5/3/1 Cycle 2 Set 3

today:

5x100 jump rope alternated w/ 5x2 pullups

Squats:5x135 lbs ATG5x185 ATG5x225 ATG5x255 ATG6x285 parallel

Ab wheel: 5x12Lunges: 5x15

Time to buy/make my own jump rope. All the plastic ones at the gym save one have been broken and not replaced. That leaves the choice between a rawhide rope and a plastic one that is just a bit too short and even if I used the rawhide one, it's way too long.

Squats were good today. I expected to hit 6 and I did. A good finish to a good cycle. Ab wheel and lunges also went well. I can definitely up the reps on the wheel and start adding weight on the lunges. The wheel was a bit difficult at the end of the sets, but I could probably lunge for quite a few more reps without problem.

I'm going to skip the deload week again, as the 65%/75%/85% first set is easy enough. I'll probably continue to skip deloads until hitting 5 reps on the 95% sets becomes difficult and then I'll think about it again.

Was hoping for 8 on the military press. I made the mistake of pausing on the bottom after the 7th rep and didn't keep tight so I couldn't get it up for a try at 8. 7x125 is less than the 7x130 I did last cycle, but this is the first set of the new cycle so I'm fine with the lower performance today. Pullups were going great, even with a couple pauses near the end of the sets, but when it came time for that last set my arms were shot. I scaled back my planned 5x9 dips sets to 6x8 after falling short on the pullups. I probably could have hit most of the sets at 9 reps, but knew I wouldn't be able to finish out all 5 sets.

I won't stop until I can at least Military press my bodyweight. That's probably a little while away (currently around 194 lbs)... Of course once I get to that point I probably won't want to stop progressing. I have no idea how far I plan to take this whole strength thing, although I will stick to my original plan of not breaking 200 lbs bodyweight. Hopefully I can replace some of my fat with muscle to keep under that limit and keep gaining strength for a while. That should be possible, as I am probably around 18% BF at the moment. Of course my genetics tend towards carrying a bit of fat so I'll have to wait and see how easy that is.

I'm glad everything's cool. I've still got a couple tubs of the stuff myself, as they were on sale right before that message thread came out and I stocked up on it.

My homemade jump rope ended up being a bit too light so I have to use a lot of arm energy to keep it moving. That would probably be fine but I found it challenging to keep the rhythm on the different jumps I do. I'd rather not deal with it so I'll just order one.

Experimented with my grip a little on the Deadlifts. Normally I lift double pronated for all my warmups and only do over/under for the final set. I've tried hook grip before but it's quite painful and I usually can't finish the set with it. I read something about over/under grips leading to postural and muscle imbalances, so I thought I'd switch it up a little to balance things out. I usually use left supinated and right pronated, so today I went the other way around. I did the first 4 reps left pronated and right supinated, but then noticed that my shoulders were horribly out of alignment, one side being much more forward than the other at the top of the lift (I don't recall which one). I then switched back to my usual method and my shoulders same much more in line at the top. I finished out the set that way. The bar bounced a little on rep 8 so I had to reset for rep 9. I probably could have hit 10, thinking about it afterwards, but due to the grip issues and resetting a couple times my momentum was lost after #9.

I'm going to have to give the grip issue some thought and figure out where to go. I've given the hook grip some thought, but I've read that it can lead to thumb damage so I'm hesitant to try it. I know that you need to "break in" your thumbs so that they get used to the strain, but I'm not sure I want to do that. I just have to figure out which I'm more willing to risk: thumb damage or muscle balance.

Still no jump rope. Bench went fine. I tried to hit 10 reps but failed. Did a couple reps more on rows than last time.

Body weight is up to ~196 lbs.

While I was lifting I saw an obviously rookie lifter doing a medley of different dumbbell lifts along with barbell front squats and deadlifts with absolutely horrid form. I gave him some advice on his form so he hopefully won't injure himself. My form isn't perfect on those lifts, but I think it's pretty good, and definitely good enough that I don't hurt at all when lifting heavy. That's my good karma for the week - now I need to go insult some old people or something to balance it out. /JK